Novel Coronavirus: COVID-19

Information we want to share for the continued preparedness, action and response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during these difficult times. Thank you to the institutions, cities, businesses and community partners we work with for pulling this all together.

Resources and information about Novel Coronavirus: COVID-19

We are truly living in unique times. The coronavirus pandemic is impacting everyone from our families, to our businesses, to our first responders who are bravely on the front lines. As the situation continues to affect our world, we wanted to use this page to inform you how we are preparing a response and collaborating with our partners.

What is it?Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a virus that has created a global pandemic. Its primary symptoms are a high fever, dry cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath. If you have any of these symptoms, please quarantine yourself and contact your healthcare provider as soon as possible for further guidance. COVID-19 has a higher reproduction number and mortality rate than the common flu, and for this reason is being treated as a global crisis leading to extreme impacts in almost every sector of life.

COVID-19 Testing Kits Depending on your city and state, testing kits can be limited and accessible only to patients who are referred to a specific address or location to take the test by a doctor.

Our blog and support articles We’ve been working to gather resources, processes, requirements, and tools to help our partners — institutions, brands, nonprofits, volunteers, and communities — find the best paths forward. Check out our regularly-updated blog post that compiles a list of resources, as well as our dedicated COVID-19 response support article. Here is a link to the specific article pulling together the resources.

What now...

COVID-19 has immediately shaken up community initiatives, service learning and all face to face events and activities.

Supporting Nonprofit Partners and Community Needs We know that our nonprofit partners will be experiencing a lot of changes at this time, as many volunteers are unable to engage in person and clients may be members of impacted populations. Organizations are also trying to best prepare their centers and protocols for volunteers that are young, healthy, and willing and able to help during these times. Centers and programs that are ready to recruit and manage volunteers (either virtually or physically) can add or list their opportunities now here. We are dedicated to hearing and supporting these needs by helping you to ensure that volunteers practice safe hygiene, sharing how to keep a clean workspace, and working to support virtual volunteer and donation opportunities. Please let us know how we can best help your organization by emailing our emergency response team at covid@givepulse.com.

Community Based Learning Community based learning has changed drastically at this time for our student and higher education administration users. We are committed to support new ways of community based learning while respecting physical distancing, including looking for alternative ways for students to remain active with community partners and an increased emphasis on reflection. If you would like our help in activating your discussion wall for a class or in determining how students can remain engaged, please contact our emergency response team at covid@givepulse.com

Events & Activities We’ll be emphasizing pandemic-related events and activities as priority, as well as virtual opportunities that can be undertaken by volunteers who are isolated, quarantined, or practicing physical distancing. In setting up all events, we encourage you to promote safety measures that volunteers need to consider before engaging with their communities, particularly emphasizing that if they have been in contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19, have been to any Level 3 countries, or show any symptoms of COVID-19, they should not volunteer in any face-to-face capacity. For coordinators and admins who can list and publish events, opportunities, and needs during these extenuating circumstances please go here.

Our collective response...

We are rallying our network to fight against COVID-19. This is how you can get involved now. For additional details as to ongoing updates and initiatives we are rolling out for this, you can check on our Support Portal here

Pandemic Emphasis We have activated an Emergency tab on our Get Involved (Search) page. Volunteers who are looking for ways to help in this time can use this tab to filter their search results by COVID-19, a tag that groups can add to their events in order to designate that these will be of particular help during this pandemic. Coordinators and admins can publish or list opportunities and make sure to select the COVID-19 option. We are continually looking for other ways that we can emphasize this emergency on our platform in order to mobilize for the benefit of our communities.

Virtual In addition to the Emergency tab, we will be encouraging community partners to post virtual volunteer (and project-based) opportunities. In parallel, we’ll be helping folks on the platform to identify opportunities encouraging physically distancing and experiences that practice safe and clean procedures to protect volunteers. We are also here to help any organizations who would like help brainstorming how they can still maintain services for their clients and community in this uncertain time. Please reach out to our response team covid@givepulse.com for more information. We also recommend individuals looking to review the following pages on remote, virtual and Pro Bono opportunities.

Reflections, Assessment & Story-telling Within the network, institutions and organizations are sharing their thoughts and reflections on the impact of COVID-19 to their daily lives and local communities. We are actively reviewing the needs, resources and changing landscape of the communities we serve. And while this is an ongoing process, this has immediately allowed us to agilely adapt to our communities requirements. We will also be disseminating the analysis gathered shortly. We will use these reflections and assessments to guide our response and proactive engagement with community leaders.

National Network Across the nation, communities have been impacted severely by COVID-19. We are activating our national network of organizations better collaborate and help communities stay strong and resilient. We anticipate on leveraging our technology and expertise (be it GivePulse or our Pro-Bono skills) to help in any way possible for our partners.

Providing Strategies and Community Forums In parallel with our Emergency Taskforce, we will be hosting webinars and community forums to disemminate resources and learnings, as well as maintaining a repository of shared knowledge and strategies in our living blog post and support documentation. If you know of any resources or have any ideas for how we can help, feel free to let us know by joining us in our webinars and forums or by emailing our emergency response team covid@givepulse.com.

Volunteer Preparation

It's imperative that all volunteers, donors and individuals who anticipate interacting with others either physically distance themselves or ensure that they are healthy, capable and willing. Individuals who meet these health requirements can get involved now here.

Wash Hands and Be Clean The CDC recommends that you wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, particularly after sneezing or coughing, when caring for the sick, before, after, and during food preparation, before eating, after use of toilets, when hands are visibly dirty, and after handling animals. Washing hands often and thoroughly (for at least 20 seconds) will help to prevent the spread of the virus, both to yourself and others. Avoid touching your face. If you cannot wash your hands, frequently use an alcohol-based hand rub/sanitizer.

Cover Coughs and Sneezes Always cover your coughs and sneezes with your inner elbow or a tissue (if into a tissue, please dispose immediately and wash your hands). Droplets can spread the virus; good respiratory hygiene helps to protect those around you from the potential spread of the virus. This is particularly true given that droplets can remain on surfaces long after you have left, leaving all those who come into contact vulnerable.

Physical (also known as Social) Distancing Maintaining six feet of physical distance can prevent the spread of virus, as this is how far droplets travel after a cough or a sneeze. Physical distance can protect you and those around you alike. Note: while this has been referred to as social distancing, increasingly the term physical distancing is being preferred, as social connection is of particular importance at this time.

Making a center, workspace and activity safe, clean and welcoming

It's imperative that all centers, programs and initiatives have procedures and ongoing tasks in place to protect the health and safety of volunteers, donors, clients and members of the community. Coordinators and admins who are prepared can publish or list opportunities for virtual experiences or the COVID-19 option here.

Wipe Down Center It is uncertain how long coronavirus can last on surfaces (for this and other information, see the WHO FAQs: https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses). In order to prevent the spread of coronavirus for those in your center, wipe it down with alcohol-based disinfectants both before and after it is in use. If you are using a tablet for volunteer check-in, make sure to sanitize it regularly. If volunteers or employees are using shared computers or tools, make sure they wash their hands regularly, use hand sanitizer, and wipe down their stations before and after use as well.

Tools & Supplies Clean-up It is also recommended the organization ensures all tools (laptops, tablets, phones, supplies and stationary) be wiped or cleaned per usage or activity. At the same time, individuals and groups who are committed to a program or activity should double check their workspace and tools are cleaned to protect their own safety and health.

Provide Disinfectant Wipes and Hand Sanitizing Solutions Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are almost as effective as hand-washing (although we always recommend that volunteers, employees, and clients wash their hands for at least 20 seconds as often as possible). Provide this to anyone engaging in your organization’s space to avoid transmission of the virus. In addition, provide disinfectant wipes so that any droplets containing the virus can be removed before individuals touch surfaces.